In February, we launched our campaign for Children’s Mental Health Week. The theme was “Your Voice Matters”, which particularly resonated with us. It’s what we do everyday: listen to everyone who comes to us for help, and support without judgement.
The campaign centred on content created by young people - this time, a group of boys from a school in Birmingham. The group had set up a mental health charity at the school; the boys were keen to help other young people and were challenged with creating impactful, sensitive and helpful content for social media.
Our Engagement team got to know the boys and worked with them to dig into the theme a bit more. The group discussed the importance of being heard and why some people might not feel able to speak up. They thought about the advice they would give to those who might feel their voice doesn’t matter. Their insightful advice was captured in a short video.
Building on this content and on the advice given, we invited young people who had experience of having no voice to write personal stories sharing their stories and advice. These personal accounts included a young person’s experience living with a stammer and another’s lengthy stay in hospital, where she felt unable to express her fears, wants and needs.
Alongside this content, we filmed podcast videos with a young person’s counsellor, which focused on managing differences of opinion, the cultural reasons we may not speak out and tips on being heard.
To see all the content created, including the video created by students, follow this link.
Underpinning this activity, our engagement team delivered six live webinars, which were streamed to more than 20,000 students in 210 schools and colleges. The team also presented in 225 assemblies and host stalls, reaching around 45,000 students and 3,000 teachers.
Activity sheets, posters and social assets were made available, spreading the message that young people’s voices matter and that Kooth is here for them whenever they might need support.